


Across the Stars

by toad_in_the_road



Series: New Dream Appreciation Week 2021 [4]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Tangled (2010)
Genre: "minor", Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, Angst, Author Pretends to Know About Space Stuff, Cassandra and Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider are Like Siblings, Droids, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Lightsabers, Minor whump, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rapunzel is So Done (Disney), Sith, Slow Burn, Space Battles, Space Opera, Space Pirates, Spice (Star Wars), Star Wars Galactic Empire Era, The Force, The Jedi, The Sith, doesnt get much better than this, im gay, just like real siblings!, new dream in space!, sorry - Freeform, which is weird because they try to kill each other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:27:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28056870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toad_in_the_road/pseuds/toad_in_the_road
Summary: Rapunzel is desperate, incredibly desperate, to leave the tiny moon she's been stranded on for most of her life and find her way in the universe-and find a few others.Flynn Rider just doesn't want to be executed by the Empire.And there's got to be a way to get them both what they want, but there's no way to do it without being thrust into a larger story that might be above Flynn's paygrade.That is, if their secrets and pursuers don't catch up to them first.
Relationships: Cassandra & Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider (Disney), Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Rapunzel, Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel, Pascal & Rapunzel (Disney)
Series: New Dream Appreciation Week 2021 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2161998
Comments: 9
Kudos: 19





	1. A Lonely Rock

**Author's Note:**

> this is not tangled but it's star wars, nor is it star wars but its tangled. no, my friends, I give you an original storyline where i take few elements of the movie, and then release these characters off into the wild to see what happens!
> 
> so i apologize in advance!
> 
> and no, rapunzel is not Rey. She's Rey inspired, because Rey is really cool and you can cry about it, but she's very different from Rey and we'll see why eventually

Rapunzel Der Sonne had done very nearly the exact same thing every day for a decade. 

She got up when the sun rose, rolled out of her bed, and stumbled to the transponder in the corner of the room, tapping a few buttons to see if she had received any messages during the night while she slept. After so long, she really shouldn’t get her hopes up everytime she checked, but she did.

And as usual, the transponder only replied to her efforts with empty static. 

Rapunzel would sigh, and then start the rest of her day. It wasn’t much, but staying busy helped stave off loneliness. She’d make a quick breakfast, and wake up Pascal, though the little lizard would usually yawn and scowl at her for waking him up so early. 

The times between then and lunch usually consisted of whatever chores needed to be done that day. It was a combination of cleaning, tending to the small garden that was her main source of food, and of course, continuing to build the dinky ship that would someday be Rapunzel’s ticket off of Corona, the tiny moon she had found herself stranded on. 

“This is Corona Transmission Station zero-zero-one,” Rapunzel said into the microphone, pausing to hear the crackling static echoing back to her as she sent out yet another weak signal. “Does anyone copy?”

Pascal made an unhappy noise on her shoulder as the static merely grew louder. Rapunzel pursed her lips, and then forced herself to smile. “Don’t worry, Pascal. Someone’s bound to stop by eventually.”

Pascal squeaked in agreement, although truthfully, he was beginning to lose hope that someone-least of all who Rapunzel wanted to come back-was ever going to come. 

“And even if they don’t,” Rapunzel said, motioning to the skeletal ship she had been methodically piecing together for years. “We’ve got our ticket out of here right there. Won’t be too much longer before it’s finished!” Although that was a flat-out lie neither of them believed but would never dispute. Too much was built upon false hope.

Rapunzel sighed, offering Pascal a piece of fruit. He flicked out his tongue, swallowing the berry, and then promptly turning the same bright red as it. It made Rapunzel giggle. 

After lunch, Rapunzel checked the traps. Empty, as they usually were, and secretly she was glad. She always felt bad killing anything she found, and more often than not ended up releasing whatever she caught. She sent out another transmission-uselessly-and then worked on the ship until the sun went down. 

That was usually her favorite time of the day. She would climb onto the roof of her tiny hut, and use her ancient binoculars to scan the skies, not necessarily for ships, but for stars.

She knew, obviously, that the universe was massive and so much bigger than her moon, but it was difficult to wrap her head around it. She could barely remember a life outside this one, and she spent her days daydreaming what might lie beyond her atmosphere. 

“Just imagine Pascal,” She said quietly, drawing the colorful sky in her journal, just like she always did. “There’s a million, billion, trillion stars that we can’t see from here. And just as many people. And somewhere…” She pulled down the binoculars to see the whole sky, a tapestry of twinkling stars and plants as colorful as a rainbow. “Somewhere, they’re out there.”

Pascal didn’t respond. Rapunzel glanced over and smiled, seeing the little lizard asleep on her shoulder. 

“We’ll get there someday,” She whispered, softly stroking his head. “I promise.”

*** *** ***

It wasn’t often Flynn Rider found himself chased by both the Baron’s goons and Imperial Stormtroopers at the same time, but today seemed to be his lucky day.

He ducked from red laser fire, ignoring the shrieks of the civilians in the crowded marketplace, who cursed him for interrupting their otherwise peaceful-if not pleasant-day.

“Halt!” A Stormtrooper steeped out in front of Flynn rather unwisely, raising their blaster. “You’re under arrest by order-”

Flynn ducked down, tackling the trooper and yanking the gun from their grasp. He whirled around, shooting at the wooden stake that held up one of the fabric coverings over the marketplace. He hit his mark, and the massive blue tarp fell down over his pursuers, trapping them. More curses from civilians drifted his way, but Flynn didn’t have time for them. Destruction of public property was the least of his worries, and at the bottom of his long list of offenses against the Empire. 

He ducked through an alleyway, letting his instincts take over to avoid hissing goons and marching soldiers, barely making it to the shipping dock. 

“There he is!” Blaster fire filled the air, and Flynn ducked behind a pillar, only daring to poke the barrel of the Imperial blaster out a few times to fire some likely bad shots. They had his ship, which was a shame because he was just starting to get used to it.

Flynn saw a tall Rodian trying to duck inside their own ship to avoid the fight, and he saw his chance. Taking a deep breath, he sprinted towards them, managing to hit two of the Stormtroopers shooting at him. “Sorry!” Flynn said, shoving the Rodian aside and ducking inside his ship. He just managed to hear the poor Rodian cursing him out before the bay doors closed.

“I’ll pay you back.” Flynn lied, glad that the ship was empty of any other passengers. He stumbled to the cockpit, trying to ignore the way the ship shuddered when the Stormtroopers began to shoot at it. At least the shield held up against petty fire. If it could do that, it could probably jump to hyperspace.

“Alright, let’s see what we’re working with…” Flynn cracked his knuckles, pressing a few buttons and flipping a few switches. The screens lit up, and the ship began to hover. The thief whooped, grabbing the controls and shoving them forward. The ship lurched, sailing up towards the blue sky and out of Cantonica. 

Flynn grinned, but the smile promptly died when he heard the telltale high-pitched whine of TIE fighters. “Oh, God…” He grumbled, searching the ship for any kind of artillery. It had some, though he realized with a jolt of guilt it was going to be difficult without a co-pilot. Someone else needed to be at the controls to maneuver the cannon, and without that, Flynn was going to have to line up the shot himself. 

He yelped (like a man, of course) when green blaster fire clipped his port side, and a warning lit up on the control panel. “Yeah, yeah…” He grumbled, and jerked the ship roughly in the opposite direction, gritting his teeth when he went into a harsh barrel roll. The TIE fighters followed after him with ease. Those ships may have fallen apart when sneezed at, but they were faster than a Mandalorian’s hand to their blaster, and could perform all the flying tricks in the books.

Flynn slammed the button to jump to hyperspace, but the computer beeped hesitantly, trying to find the options he had without running into a star. Flynn groaned. “Sure, take your time! We don’t have all day!”

“ _Flynn Rider, how nice to see you still have all your limbs_.” Flynn jumped in surprise at the new voice, and then scowled when he saw he was receiving a transmission. The Rodian must have left it on, and now it was displaying the holographic image of a young woman with short black hair in an Imperial officer’s uniform.

“Aw, did you miss me, Lieutenant?” Flynn asked, flashing Cassandra his most winning smile, despite the endless blaster fire around him.

“ _Admiral, now, actually._ ” Cassandra said, looking amused by his situation.

“But still not a Moff. What a shame.” Flynn said, his smile becoming a little more genuine when he saw Cassandra’s face tighten.

“ _I’m here to offer you a deal, Rider. Turn yourself in now, and I promise we won’t parade you around before we execute you._ ” Cassandra said, her voice losing some of her false cheer.

“Hm, you know…” Flynn yanked the controls and the ship banked upwards sharply. “It’s pretty tempting. But I think I’m gonna have to pass. I’d rather destroy your ships.”

“ _Oh?_ ” Cassandra asked. “ _And how are you going to do that?_ ”

“Like this.” Flynn abruptly cut the engines, and the ship went into a freefall, the heavier front turning to face the two TIE fighters pursuing him. The cannon’s software beeped, showing the two ships lined up perfectly within his range. With two well-placed (and lucky) shots, the TIE fighters were no more.

Flynn laughed as he swooped low, barely avoiding crashing, soaring up and away to the sky again. “You know, you should really consider using alternate dogfighting formations,” He told Cassandra. “Makes it too easy to get you guys. Anyway, it’s been lovely chatting. See you soon, I’m sure.”

“ _Wait-_ ” Cassandra started, but Flynn had already turned off the transponder.

The ship beeped, offering him several routes through hyperspace. Flynn chose the one that took him the farthest, not even bothering to look at where it took him. The ship lurched slightly, and the stars turned to white blurs as he made the jump, safe from Imperial fire.

He leaned back in the chair, relaxing with a big grin on his face. He opened up the flap to his worn and weathered satchel, smiling when he saw the glinted of shiny mythra inside. “Don’t worry,” He told his prize. “We’re going somewhere where the Baron can’t get his grubby fingers on you ever again.”

It didn’t reply, but Flynn liked to imagine it was thanking him.

The ship’s control board suddenly flashed red, and Flynn jerked as the ship abruptly jumped out of hyperspace-right into an asteroid field. “Crap-!” He grabbed the controls, trying to maneuver through the rocks, but the ship was big and bulky, and he yelped (again, a very manly yelp) when he struck a large asteroid and spun out of control, leaking thick smoke into space. Alarms blared.

“Crap, crap, crap-” Flynn slammed the solar map, desperate to find the nearest habitable planet-hell, anywhere with a breathable atmosphere was fine by him. There was a tiny green dot on the map, so close it was within eyeshot. Flynn squinted in the direction, and saw it-a tiny green dot in the center of the asteroid field.

“Hope it’s quiet.” He grumbled to himself, trying to ignore the smell of smoke.

*** *** ***

**Wake up.**

Rapunzel jerked awake with a startled gasp, covered in sweat. It was dark out, though she realized that tiny streaks of white were streaking across the sky. A meteor shower, though those were incredibly common here.

She stood up, finding it odd that she wasn’t tired. She rarely woke up in the middle of the night unless it was from a nightmare, and she had long grown out of those. 

Her transponder suddenly blinked to life.

Rapunzel gasped, waking poor Pascal, and sprinted over to it. “H-hello?! Hello, is anyone there?!”

Static.

“Hello, this is Corona Transmission Station zero-zero-one. Rapunzel Der Sonne speaking. Is anyone there?”

Static.

“Hello? Hello? Is anybody out there?!”

Static, and Rapunzel felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes, though she felt stupid for it. It was just a mistake, the piece of junk had probably just picked up a stray signal, nothing to get worked up about-

“ _-going down!_ ”

*** *** ***

Alarms blared, and Flynn roared at them to shut up, because he already knew he was about to crash and didn’t need a stupid machine to tell him so. 

The ground approached rapidly, and it didn’t help that he couldn’t see. Flynn shut his eyes tightly, praying to anything and everything he had ever heard people worship in his many travels, asking that if this was it, it would at least be quick because he had heard awful stories of people burning alive in crashes-

The ship landed roughly, and Flynn was thrown forward with a yelp. Smoke filled the room, and he coughed, feeling the ship come to a stop after sliding through the grass. He stumbled through the ship and managed to get outside, coughing horribly, eyes streaming, and his body aching something awful, but alive.

He threw up (a very manly vomit) and fell to his knees, gasping, trying to wipe soot from his face, but he probably only succeeded in spreading out around. Not that it mattered, because he still clutched the satchel, and when he opened it up, his prize was still as shiny as it ever was. He could almost hear it congratulating him on surviving. 

He smiled. “Alone at last.”

And then something heavy hit him in the back of the head, and everything went black.


	2. The Pirate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the way i am chomping at the bit to release like eight chapters at once because i do not control the hyperfixation especially when samuel kim music is on
> 
> (everyone say thank you sam)
> 
> anyway its midnight where i am right now and i do not intend to go to sleep for a while so i feel somewhat validated in posting this

Knocking out the stranger wasn’t what Rapunzel had had in mind, but she panicked.

In her defense, it was all rather sudden. She hadn’t known what to expect, but a random man crawling out of the wreckage of a ruined ship was not on her list. Really, she thought as she kept her frying pan pointed at the unconscious man, that crash should have killed him. It was a miracle he was alive.

Pascal squeaked threateningly from her shoulder, now fully awake and ready to take on this adversary. The ship was still smoking, and flames were crawling through the windows. Shakily, Rapunzel filled her frying pan with dirt, tossing it over the flames. If the ship was grounded permanently, she could at least use it for parts. 

“Stay here. Get me if he wakes up.” Rapunzel told Pascal, and the lizard nodded, hopping off her shoulder to stand watch on a small rock. Rapunzel continued her work of putting out fires until there was no longer unbearable heat radiating from the ship, and the smoke was a little less thick. The sun was beginning to rise when Rapunzel finally turned her attention back to the unconscious stranger.

Or rather, his bag.

He had been looking inside it when she knocked him out, and now it lay askew at his side, something shimmering slightly inside it. She carefully picked the bag up, dumping its contents on the ground. There were a few credits in various currencies, a blaster, a twisted piece of metal, a small hand mirror, a razor, and a small disc that lit up with the man’s face on it, declaring his name to be Flynn Rider, and promising her a hefty reward if he was given up to the Empire, dead or alive.

Rapunzel felt sick.

Something shimmered in the grass, and Rapunzel glanced down, seeing it had bounced away from the rest of the items. Hesitantly, she picked it up.

It was the emblem of a shining star, heavy and golden, reflecting her shocked face in the morning light. She traced the carved edges with her fingernail, and it caught the light in a way where she had to squint against the glare. Something about it bothered her, though she just couldn’t place her finger on what.

She turned her attention back to the man. No, Flynn Rider, wanted and dangerous criminal. She was going to have to be careful. She assumed they both wanted the same thing; to get off this moon. But he was probably going to be desperate about it, and might hurt her and Pascal if she wasn’t careful.

Though, lying there, she had to admit he didn’t look particularly dangerous. Really, with the sunlight on his face, he looked kind, even peaceful, and he had a nice nose-

He grunted, blinking open his eyes, and Rapunzel wasted no time whacking him with the frying pan once again as hard as she could.

*** *** ***

Flynn jolted awake, feeling something wet in his ear. 

He looked around wildly, trying to stand, but nearly toppled. His heart sank when he realized why. He was tied to a chair, and thrashing and trying to escape only stung his wrists. 

Something green scuttled by his feet, and Flynn tried to stomp on it. It squeaked a scolding-a very tiny green lizard glared at him as if _he_ was the crazy one.

“Struggling is pointless!” 

Flynn jumped in his seat, nearly upsetting himself once again. What stood before him was not an angry Stormtrooper, not a bad-smelling hired gun for the Baron. Or at least, he assumed it wasn’t the second one. The Baron didn’t have a habit of hiring pretty girls with long blonde hair and ragged purple dresses. She wasn’t even wearing any shoes.

“Ah.” Flynn said, partially because he wasn’t sure what to say and partially because _wow, she’s really pretty._

“I’m not afraid of you.” The girl said grandly, holding out a heavy-looking frying pan at him. The back of Flynn’s head stung.

“Funny,” Flynn said. “You don’t tie people up if you’re not afraid of them.”

“Oh, that’s not for me,” The girl said. “That’s just until the Empire comes here to pick you up.”

“W-” Flynn felt the color drain from his face. “Look, Blondie-”

“Rapunzel.”

“God bless you. Why would the Empire need to come pick me up?” Flynn smiled, as suave as he could manage with a pounding headache. “Unless it’s a crime to be this handsome.”

“Hm, I dunno about that…” Rapunzel said, picking up a small disk from the tabletop next to her. It lit up, displaying Flynn’s face and bounty, and he felt what little color was left leave his cheek. “But I think...deserting, burglary, destruction of Imperial property, destruction of public property, disturbance of the peace, inciting violence, violence against Imperial officers, and...good Lord, this is a long list. Point is, all these are crimes. Should I go on?”

“That’s not me.” Flynn said stupidly.

Rapunzel looked back and forth between the rotating headshot and Flynn. “That’s not you?”

“Nope,” Flynn shook his head. “Twin brother. Grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, if you know what I mean.”

Rapunzel almost looked like she was about to smile at him, if only out of pity. “I’m not stupid, Rider.”

“Well, neither am I,” Flynn said, looking around. “And this place seems pretty remote. That transponder-” Flynn nodded at the weakly blinking machine in the corner. “-doesn’t look like it can do much more than send a ping off to the nearest planet, and your neighbors are asteroids. So I don’t think you’ve been able to get in touch with anyone.”

Rapunzel’s jaw clenched, and Flynn grinned widely. “And ding ding! I get a prize! So just let me go, I’ll grab my satchel and be on my way-wait,” Flynn looked around once again, this time wildly. “Hold on, where’s my satchel?!”

“I’ve hidden it,” Rapunzel said proudly. “Somewhere you’ll never find it.”

Flynn craned his neck to look behind him. “It’s under your bed.”

When he woke up after being knocked out once again (once again to a lizard tongue in his ear), Rapunzel looked even more smug. “Now it’s hidden where you’ll never find it. Now anyway, let’s get to business.”

“Business?” Flynn asked incredulously. 

“Mhm,” Rapunzel paced around him, and Flynn didn’t like not having the frying pan in his line of sight. “See, I’ve been stranded here a long time. And your ship-despite your best efforts-is fixable.”

“My best-hey, Blondie,” Flynn said, oddly offended. “I’m a great pilot.”

“If by flying you mean crashing,” Rapunzel said. “Then yes, you are. But as I said, I need a way off this planet and help finding something.”

“And what is that something?” Flynn asked.

“It’s personal.” Rapunzel said.

“It’s personal...of course it is. Look, I’m not a taxi service.” Flynn grumbled.

“Well, you’re about to be one if you ever wanna get your precious satchel back,” Rapunzel said. “It’s not like we’ll be flying around aimlessly. I know where to start looking. Coruscant-”

“Coruscant?!” Flynn blinked. “Why the hell do you wanna go to Coruscant? That place is a stinking pit of misery, and crawling with Stormtroopers.”

“And it’s got the biggest library in the known galaxy,” Rapunzel said. “If there’s any place I can find clues, it’s there.”

“Oh my God.” Flynn groaned, tipping his head back to stare at the ceiling. 

“That’s my deal,” Rapunzel said. “Take it or leave it.”

“Alright,” Flynn said, dropping his head. “I didn’t want to have to do this, but you’ve forced my hand...here comes the smolder.”

Rapunzel did not look properly wooed. The lizard on her shoulder made a face, scuttling behind Rapunzel’s neck, and Rapunzel just looked confused and vaguely embarrassed for him.

“God-” Flynn bit back curses that would surely earn him another smack with the frying pan. “Fine! I’ll take you to Coruscant.”

“Really?!” Rapunzel rushed around him, accidentally tripping on some slack rope. She was fine, but the jarring movement brought Flynn crashing down onto his face with (a not quite so manly) yelp.

“Sorry.” Rapunzel said sheepishly.

“Ow.”

*** *** ***

“Why can’t you be as quick packing as you were fixing the ship?” Flynn complained loudly, throwing stones at a flock of birds that had settled near the house.

“I’m trying to pack up my life,” Rapunzel said shortly. “I’ve lived here for most of it.”

“By yourself?” Flynn glanced up, looking surprised.

“Mhm.” Rapunzel said, suddenly worried that Flynn would push the subject.

Instead, he shrugged. “That explains a lot. Like the frog.”

Pascal squeaked in indignation. “Chameleon.” Rapunzel corrected.

“Isn’t that basically the same thing? Anyway, come on, time’s a-wasting!” 

Rapunzel fought back a sigh, deciding that she would be the bigger person. She hauled the backpack over her shoulder, stumbling slightly under the weight. Pascal glanced back nervously. 

Rapunzel patted his head. “You don’t have to come. I know this is your home.” Though the thought of going forward without Pascal terrified her.

Pascal chittered, nudging her cheek. Rapunzel smiled. “Thanks, buddy.”

_I’m really leaving._

And she refused to look back as she boarded the ship.

*** *** ***

This strength didn’t last long. 

“I think I left the oven on.” Rapunzel said, wriggling in her seat.

“I was looking, you didn’t,” Flynn said, focused on trying to find the quickest route to Coruscant. “Damn hyperdrive’s busted.”

“Sorry, I’m just a little jumpy…” Rapunzel chuckled nervously, but Flynn did not even look slightly amused. 

“Well, you should be,” He said shortly. “We’re in the Outer Rim, and until we can stop somewhere to get the hyperdrive fixed, we’re sitting ducks out here.”

“Ah,” Rapunzel said, trying not to show that this greatly unsettled her. “Well, that’s not my fault.”

“Didn’t say it was.”

“Really? ‘Cause it sounds like you were accusing me.”

“I wasn’t-”

“Look, maybe if you weren’t a criminal you wouldn’t be in this situation.”

“And if I wasn’t, you’d still be stranded,” Flynn adjusted a few switches. “And it’s not that simple. I don’t know what kind of fantasy you’ve been living in on that little moon of yours, but in the real world, life is hard and awful. And even if it wasn’t, I think I’d still like to find a way to stick it to the Empire.”

“What’s so awful about the Empire anyway?” Rapunzel asked.

Flynn laughed, and then paused when he saw Rapunzel’s genuinely confused look. “You...you really don’t know?” He whistled softly. “How long have you been stuck on that moon? Must be nice to be that naive.”

“I’m not naive-” Rapunzel started, but suddenly the ship shuddered, halting. The control panel lit up red, flashing warnings.

“Oh no,” Flynn said. “Oh no no no-!” He frantically grabbed the controls, shaking them vigorously.

“Don’t do that, you’ll damage them!” Rapunzel said. “What’s going on?!” 

“Tractor beam.”

“What?! By who?!”

“I don’t know,” Flynn said, grabbing the rusted blaster that Rapunzel had oh-so graciously allowed him to keep. “But I don’t think they want to say hello. Are you really going to defend yourself with a frying pan?”

“It worked on you.” Rapunzel said, and Flynn shrugged, deciding he wouldn’t feel too guilty if she got herself killed for her stubbornness.

The stars disappeared as whatever ship had captured them yanked them in, closing the bay doors. Flynn motioned for Rapunzel to move to the other side of the ship’s doors, and she did so, clutching her melee weapon tightly.

“On three.” Flynn mouthed, slamming the button so the doors slowly began to open. “One, two…”

He sprinted out, blaster raised to take out as many Stormtroopers as he could-

And then stopped dead in his tracks when he found countless silvery blaster barrels pointed at his head. He gulped.

“Oh, no way.” An accented voice said, and Flynn groaned loudly when he realized he was surrounded by Weequays each shriveled face wearing the same expression.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.” Flynn grumbled.

“What is it?” Rapunzel asked, still holding her frying pan tightly. “Do you know these guys?”

“Flynn Rider!” A raspy voice echoed, laughing loudly, and the others moved aside for a tall Weequay with graying hair and thick goggles. He laughed loudly, smelling of spice, swinging his arm around Flynn good-naturedly and plucking the pistol from his hand in one quick motion. “Never thought I’d see you again, my boy! I thought you’d taken my prize and left! But I told them, I told them ‘That boy isn’t stupid enough to cross me, no no no’. So! Where’s my spice? And don’t lie, I’ll know.” He laughed loudly, but his grip was tight.

“Excuse me?” Rapunzel said nervously.

“Ah!” The Weequay let go of Flynn, but two more of his men grabbed Flynn’s arms so he didn’t have the chance to run. “And who might you be, my dear?”

Rapunzel looked hesitant, and the Weequay chuckled. “No need to be shy.” 

“Rapunzel.” Rapunzel said hesitantly.

“A lovely, unique name, for a lovely, unique young lady,” The Weequay chuckled. “And I am Hondo Ohnaka, Pirate King of the Outer Rim. But you may call me Hondo. All my friends do, and we’re friends after all, aren’t we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...i know there's at least one hondo simp out there so bitch this one's for you
> 
> also i love chaotic neutral characters i wish we had a crime guy like him in the series, all the criminals are so mean, where's my amoral goofball??? hondo's great he was in all the best clone wars episodes
> 
> there's some blink and you miss it important character stuff that will smack you painfully in the face later on as well :))))
> 
> and finally yeah!!!! pascal is a normal chameleon!!!!! if they can have real snakes, lizards, frogs and rats in the movies (empire strikes back on dagobah specifically) then i can use a real chameleon


	3. M4X

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh yall are gonna hate me for this one

“Um.” Rapunzel said, completely unsure of what to make of this boisterously outgoing man who seemed friendly, but something in Flynn’s eye made her reconsider.

“And what are you doing hanging around a no-good scoundrel like Rider here?” Hondo asked.

“Hey, I resent that.” Flynn said grumpily.

“One moment, my dear,” Hondo smiled apologetically, turning his attention back to Flynn. “You resent that, eh? So then it’s not true?”

Flynn went quiet, looking suspicious. “Oh, come come, don’t be shy. Since when have you ever been quiet before?” Hondo laughed loudly, and a few of his crew members chuckled along. “Did you get the spice I sent you after?”

“Well, yeah…” Flynn said hesitantly. 

“And my men have searched your ship,” Hondo said, crossing his arms. “And there is no spice on there. So that leads me to assume that you’ve sold it or traded it, probably for twice what it’s worth, eh?”

Flynn looked pale, but Hondo kept speaking. “And of course, I know you must have only gotten lost, and now you’re ready to deliver the fruits of your labor to me, because surely, surely you’re not stupid enough to double cross me.”

Flynn Rider remained decidedly silent, and Hondo sighed, as if greatly disappointed. “Oh, a shame, such a shame, really…”

He whirled around to Rapunzel suddenly, and she jumped. “Can you fly, my dear?”

“I-what?” Rapunzel asked.

“Can you pilot a ship?” Hondo repeated.

“I-yes, I can.” Rapunzel said, though she was very uncertain. Piloting a ship she had built herself was one thing, but being tossed into another was a different matter altogether.

“Oh, that’s a relief. You’re quite a lucky young lady you know, you’ve caught me on a generous day. Braxil!” Hondo turned his attention to a scrawny Weequay with an eyepatch. “If you would fix up our friend here with an extra ship-nothing too fancy-and send her on her way? Lovely, thank you so much. Oh, and toss Rider out the airlock.”

“What?!” Flynn immediately started thrashing, but Hondo’s crew held him back. “Hey, hey, we can work this out!”

“Wait, wait! You’re just gonna toss him out?!” Rapunzel asked, rushing forward.

Hondo chuckled. “If I were you, my dear, I’d walk away. I have no quarrel with you, which is a rare treat.”

“I need him!” She said desperately.

Hondo laughed once again, throwing his head back. “And why would you need him?”

“He’s taking me to Coruscant! I need to get to the Archives there! He promised he’d take me!” Rapunzel said.

Hondo shrugged. “Ah, well, other arrangements came up. You understand, I’m sure. And anyway, I’m sure you can find someone else to give you a ride.”

A small part of Rapunzel, the mean part, whispered in agreement. _He’s right, you know, and you could get someone who isn’t a criminal to give you a lift. Or you could even fly there yourself. Coruscant is a Core world. It’s not gonna be that hard to find._

“What if we could get your spice back?”

Hondo paused, and glanced back at Rapunzel, who swallowed when she realized she had been the one who said that.

“That spice is long gone by now.” Hondo chuckled. 

“I mean-new spice. We can do that, right?!” She turned to Flynn, who nodded desperately, kicking uselessly.

“I don’t think you know exactly what you’re offering, my dear,” Hondo said. “I’m allowing you a chance to walk away from this-and Rider, you should be thanking me for throwing you out the airlock instead of turning you over to the Empire. I told you, I’m in a generous mood today.”

“And also your bounty’s even higher than mine and they’ll get you too.” Flynn muttered, and Hondo shrugged.

“We can do it! Just...give us a chance.” Rapunzel said, unsure why she was sticking her own neck out so far for a man who wasn’t even that nice to her.

Hondo stroked his chin, mulling it over. “You said you’re feeling generous. Well, let us pay you back for it.” Rapunzel said.

At this, Hondo threw his head back and cackled once more. “Oh, she’s clever! Where’d you pick her up, eh, Rider?” Hondo snapped his fingers, and his crew pushed Flynn forward. “Oh, alright. You bring me back...eh, double what the original shipment was-”

“Double?!” Flynn squawked. 

“And I’ll let you two go scot free. Sound fair?” Hondo asked.

“Um-” Rapunzel started, and Hondo grinned.

“Of course it isn’t, what do you take me for? Oh, and Rider...” Hondo swung around, grabbing Flynn by the front of his shirt and lifting him off the ground. His smile never faltered.

“Double cross me again, and you’re gonna wish the Empire got you after I’m through. Are we clear?” Hondo asked.

Flynn swallowed hard. “Crystal.”

*** *** ***

“What do you mean you lost him in the jump?!” Cassandra snapped at the lieutenant, a willowy man who was promoted too fast due to connections. He lost his pompous attitude quickly under Cassandra’s command, a strict leader who didn’t take kindly to mistakes. Especially stupid ones.

“H-he took a _Sentinel_ transport, we didn’t think it’d be difficult to take down-” He said weakly, and flinched when Cassandra marched up to him. 

“How many times,” She growled. “Have I told you not to underestimate Rider?! If he’s avoided the Baron and all his cronies for this long, he can certainly make due with a _Sentinel_!”

The lieutenant nodded vigorously, looking everywhere but Cassandra’s furious gaze. “Y-yes ma’am, I understand, won’t happen again-”

“Admiral!” A pair of troopers marched up to Cassandra, saluting her. She nodded at them, and they relaxed. “You’ve got a transmission coming in. From Gothel.”

Cassandra resisted the urge to groan. “Very well. Dismissed,” She glanced back to glare at the lieutenant. “And we will continue this discussion later. I won’t take the blame for more lost pilots.”

The lieutenant paled significantly at the thought of facing Gothel’s wrath. Really, all of Cassandra’s underlings looked nervous. The troopers were probably sweating under their helmets.

Cassandra couldn’t blame them. Gothel had a reputation for having impossibly high standards for those under her command, with dire consequences for those who couldn’t measure up. This reputation wasn’t unearned. Cassandra had worked for Gothel for years, and even still found herself nervous in her presence, though she masked it well.

The doors to the transmission room slid open, and Cassandra bowed respectfully to the hologram of Gothel, her dark curly hair falling perfectly over her shoulder. It was also well-known that Gothel was incredibly vain, but could smell false flattery a mile away. Cassandra learned that the hard way.

“I heard you had some trouble today with a thief.” Gothel drawled, and Cassandra’s face burned. Gothel also had a talent for sniffing out the aforementioned failures. Her moles were everywhere, and Cassandra made a mental note to sniff this one out. 

“Yes, but-” Cassandra started, but Gothel’s sharp gaze turned to her, and Cassandra fell silent.

“I don’t want to hear your excuses, Admiral,” Gothel snapped, and then sighed wistfully. “Your father would have never let that rat get away.”

Cassandra struggled not to show how deep the blow had gone. Her father was a well-respected and well-liked Grand Admiral, a rare treasure in the Empire. Usually, when people climbed that high in the ranks, they became callous with their soldiers. But Cassandra had never heard a bad word said against her father, from his foot soldiers to his fellow Grand Admirals. 

His recent death left some big shoes to fill, to say the least.

“It won’t happen again.” Cassandra said, proud of how steady her voice was.

“It better not,” Gothel said. “But there’s more important things than petty thieves at the moment anyway. I assume you are familiar with the various uprisings within the Outer Rim?”

“Yes.” Cassandra said simply. Since the disaster with the Death Star, many of the less-controlled planets had gotten the bright idea to start making noise. It always shocked Cassandra how fine the line between order and chaos was.

“Christophsis is one such planet,” Gothel said, and a small holomap appeared, outlining said planet in green. “I need you and your squadron to settle the dispute. By any means necessary.”

“With all due respect,” Cassandra said carefully, wracking her brain for the limited information she had on Christophsis. “Is this really where we want to spend our time and energy? Christophsis doesn’t offer and significant advantage-”

“Are you questioning my orders?!” Gothel asked, her voice tight and shrill.

“N-no, I just-”

“Insolent girl,” Gothel hissed. “It’s not about the resources, it’s about the message! How do you think the rest of the galaxy will look at the Empire if we cannot quell one civilian uprising?! It’s a domino grip; if one topples, the rest may follow.”

Cassandra bit her lip, struggling not to look away. Gothel scoffed, disgusted. “God, why I allowed you to be promoted to Admiral, I’ll never know.”

“And I’m grateful for it.” Cassandra said quickly.

“And I can take that promotion away just as quickly. Or have you discharged.” Gothel said.

Cassandra said nothing, certain Gothel was bluffing. Well, almost certain.

“Tell me when you’re there, and when you’ve succeeded,” Gothel said. “I won’t accept anything less.”

The message abruptly shut off, and Cassandra was left alone in a dark room with nothing but her thoughts and failures.

*** *** ***

“I can’t believe Hondo didn’t throw _you_ out the airlock.” Flynn said, looking nervously at the large tracker attached to the side of his ship, blinking red. Hondo had warned him that if he tried to turn it off, it was rigged to explode.

“Where can we get spice?” Rapunzel asked.

“Well,” Flynn said. “There’s good news and bad news. The good news is that there’s a stash hidden on a planet not far from here so we don’t have to go all the way out to Kessel and fight, like, every single gang in the galaxy for it.”

“And the bad news…?” Rapunzel asked slowly.

“It...sort of already belongs to someone,” Flynn admitted. “But! They’re probably not gonna be there.”

“Are you gonna tell me who they are?” Rapunzel asked.

“Oh, no one special,” Flynn shrugged. “Just some Trandoshans who hunt people for sport.”

Pascal squeaked in alarm.

“But anyway, I’m sure it’s fine,” Flynn said. “Beats getting thrown out that airlock.”

“So we pop in, grab their spice, and pop out. Easy peasy.” Rapunzel said brightly.

“Sure,” Flynn chuckled. “Easy peasy.”

There was a short beat of silence before Flynn frowned, glancing back, looking unsure. “Hey, so…” He paused, as if unsure if he wanted to continue on. “Why...why did you stick up for me back there? Hondo was right. You could’ve gotten anyone else to take you to Coruscant and probably saved yourself a lot of trouble.”

“I…” Rapunzel glanced at Pascal, who looked just as curious for the answer. “I didn’t want you to get killed.”

Flynn chuckled. “You don’t even like me.”

“No,” Rapunzel agreed. “But...you still don’t deserve to die.”

Flynn blinked, and then turned back to pretend to focus on piloting the ship. “...you saw I was a criminal, right?”

“That doesn’t mean you deserve to die. Or...or even that you’re not a good person.” Rapunzel said.

“Are you calling me a good person?” Flynn asked, only half-teasing.

“I’m just saying I think you’re better than Hondo.” Rapunzel said quickly.

“The bar is on the ground if that’s your metric for being a good person,” Flynn said. “Anyway, I’m starving. Do you think there’s any food hidden on board here?”

“You don’t know?” Rapunzel asked.

“This ship isn’t mine. Just got it this morning, actually.”

“You...you stole it?”

“We did establish I’m a criminal, right?”

“You don’t need to be so proud about it…”

*** *** ***

“Nice one, Pascal!” Rapunzel grinned when Pascal alerted her to a crate filled with freeze-dried food. She had been left several crates of it during her time on Corona, and while the tastelessness of it wasn’t something she looked forward to, she was also very hungry.

She dragged the crate out, and paused when something white and shiny caught her eye. A droid lay in the corner, robotic eyes dark and despondent. 

“Oh!” Rapunzel grinned, her mind producing vague and half-forgotten memories of well-loved nurse droids that had been her companions when she had been very small. This one didn’t spark any strong memories. It must have been a model she was unfamiliar with.

In any case, it was rather ragged, as though it hadn’t been turned on in a long time. After a few minutes of fiddling with it, the droid made a funny humming sound, sputtering to life. Pascal squealed, startled.

“It’s just a droid.” Rapunzel assured him, watching it slowly gain awareness. It was rather small, coming up a little higher than her hip, and hovered off the ground. It had a long, binocular-like head, and flexed it’s white plated arms experimentally before looking up at Rapunzel and beeping curiously.

“Aw…” Rapunzel knelt down, smiling widely. “Aren’t you just the cutest thing? See, Pascal?” She held out the chameleon to the droid, and the droid drew closer, whirring. Pascal squealed in surprise, camouflaging to blend in with Rapunzel’s hands and disappearing. The droid blinked, looking disappointed.

“He just wants to be friends.” Rapunzel assured Pascal, and after a moment, Pascal reappeared, inspecting the droid. The droid’s eyes flicked between Rapunzel and Pascal, and then slowly offered its metal hand to the lizard. Pascal made an uncertain noise, but slowly climbed into the droid’s hand. The droid beeped happily.

“Oh, that’s adorable,” Rapunzel practically squealed. “My name’s Rapunzel, and this is Pascal. What’s your’s?”

The droid made a series of beeps and whirs, hovering in place. Rapunzel frowned. “I don’t speak droid...oh, maybe Flynn does! Come on.” She motioned for the droid to follow, and it did so eagerly, looking around the ship.

“Flynn!” Rapunzel said excitedly, rushing into the cockpit. “You’ll never guess what I found!”

“You’re right, I won’t, because guessing games are stupid.” Flynn said.

“Do you speak droid?” Rapunzel asked, ignoring his sarcasm.

“Uh...a little. Why? Did you find one?” Flynn asked, glancing back.

“No,” Rapunzel gestured grandly as the droid entered the cockpit. “I found a friend! Who happens to be a droid.”

Flynn’s eyes widened. “Oh _shit_ -”

Out of nowhere, the droid’s eyes suddenly turned red, and it let out a loud alarm. Pascal squealed in alarm, jumping out of its hands. Which was lucky, as the hands suddenly turned into twins blasters. Flynn leapt out of his seat as though he was electrified. “TURN IT OFF TURN IT OFF TURN IT OFF-!”

“Gah!” Rapunzel sprang forward, grabbing the droid before it could unwisely start shooting in a highly pressurized cockpit. The droid slammed into a wall, and the parts Rapunzel had haphazardly repaired sparked, and the droid went limp.

“Are you crazy?!” Flynn asked shrilly. “That was an M4X droid!”

“I don’t know what that is!” Rapunzel cried, shaken how quickly the sweet droid had turned violent. Pascal nudged its remains sadly.

“It’s a defunct Imperial military droid!” Flynn snapped. “They’ve got a database of every criminal in the galaxy. They were recalled because they kept going haywire and killing people. Or at least I _thought_ they were all recalled. Dunno why this one is on here.” Flynn nudged it with his foot nervously. “They were probably trading it for parts or something.”

“Aw, poor little guy.” Rapunzel crooned.

“It’s just a droid. A droid that tried to kill me. And was gonna kill you and your frog by accident when it started shooting holes in the cockpit.” Flynn said grumpily. 

“Still.” Rapunzel said, carefully gathering up the droid. It wasn’t damaged too badly. “I’m gonna fix him.”

“Please don’t.” Flynn said, looking startled.

“I’m not gonna turn him on! He’ll just...sit there. Until we figure out what to do with him.” Rapunzel said.

“I-you know what?” Flynn sat heavily back in his seat, looking huffy. “Fine. But if it even looks at me funny, I’m shooting it.”

The control panel suddenly blinked, and Flynn glanced at it, and then glanced up. A planet, a mess of colors, loomed ahead of them.

“Better make your repairs quick, Blondie,” Flynn said. “‘Cause we’re coming up on our destination.”

He spread his arms grandly. “Welcome to Felucia.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have an obsession with the droids of star wars and it shows


	4. A Voice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM TOTALLY CHEATING FOR NEW DREAM WEEK BY INCLUDING THIS BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? WHATEVER

“You’re gonna wanna leave your frog here.” Flynn said as the ship touched down on the humid surface of Felucia. 

“What? Why?” Rapunzel asked.

“Because the flying things here are really bold, and I don’t have the energy to go on a rescue mission when he’s snatched up by something.” Flynn said. As if on cue, a small flock of winged things with teeth landed on a massive bulbous plant, staring at the ship curiously. They were far too small to hurt Rapunzel or Flynn, but they could have swallowed Pascal whole.

Pascal squeaked in protest, evidently willing to risk being eaten, but Rapunzel wasn’t. “He’s probably right,” She said glumly, setting him down on the control panel. “You can guard the ship for us-can you set up a comm for him?”

“Do I have to?” Flynn asked, and then groaned when Rapunzel glared at him. “Fine, whatever.”

After he did so (with a lot of complaining), they stepped off the ship, and Rapunzel instantly felt her hair stick uncomfortably to the back of her neck. “Wow, it’s…” She paused, trying to find a word. “Interesting here!”

“You can say it sucks, I know it does,” Flynn said, looking just as uncomfortable in the humidity that nearly made the air a soup. “It’s not too late to call this whole thing off, go back and give me my satchel so we can go our separate ways.”

“You wish.” Rapunzel said, though she did miss her pleasantly temperate moon in this climate.

“Worth a shot.” Flynn said glumly, stepping foot onto the disgustingly soft terrain.

*** *** ***

“I hope I’m about to receive some good news.” Gothel said, glaring at Cassandra as if she had gone out of her way to inconvenience her. 

“As a matter a fact,” Cassandra said, fighting to keep the gloating out her voice. “My forces have completely occupied the city of Tophen already. No casualties on our side, and minimal ones on the part of the civilians.”

“Hm,” Gothel said, pausing to regard Cassandra curiously. “You’ve surprised me, Admiral. How long will the occupation be?”

“I think we should remain for about a week, and then set up a small rotating squadron to make sure the city doesn’t devolve into violence once again,” Cassandra said. “Or at least until we can finally crush the Rebellion.”

Gothel nodded, stiffly. “Don’t disappoint me.”

Cassandra nodded, and Gothel cut their connection. 

In the dark room, Cassandra saw blaster fire on civilians, their screams echoing in her head.

*** *** ***

“How do you know about this, by the way?” Rapunzel asked, stepping carefully over a large plant. She wasn’t wearing any shoes, and didn’t doubt that many of these plants could do her harm. “The spice, I mean. And the Trandoshans.”

“I got nabbed by some of them when I was a kid,” Flynn said. “I managed to get away by finding a stash and bartering my way out.”

Rapunzel blinked, horrified. “Wait-they tried to kill you?”

“A lot of people have tried to kill me, Blondie,” He almost looked amused by her shock. “No one’s succeeded yet.”

“That’s awful.” Rapunzel said sympathetically. 

“Lots of things are awful,” Flynn said callously. “Welcome to the real world. It’s not all green moons.”

Rapunzel scowled. “I’m not some stupid, helpless maiden, you know. I kept Hondo from tossing you out the airlock.”

“And I’m eternally grateful,” Flynn said blandly. “I’ll be more impressed if you can survive Coruscant.”

“What’s your deal with Coruscant?” Rapunzel crossed her arms. “Have you ever even been?”

“I was born there, actually.” Flynn said.

Rapunzel felt her face grow hot. “O-oh. Well...I’m sure it’s not as bad as you say. You just have to look at it through a better perspective.”

“Sure.” Flynn said, and somehow his lack of arguing made Rapunzel nervous for Coruscant. Like he was resigned to it, and soon enough she would be too.

They trekked in silence for a little, sweaty and hot in Felucia’s dank and humid atmosphere. Rapunzel was just about to ask how far out they were when Flynn froze, and Rapunzel followed his lead. 

“Straight ahead.” Flynn said, motioning to a small clearing with a huge grey stone in the center. Carefully, he withdrew his blaster, and Rapunzel’s grip on the frying pan tightened. “Alright, stay here.”

“What? I’m coming too.” Rapunzel said.

“I already have to babysit you,” Flynn said. “I don’t wanna have to drag you out of there if we get ambushed.”

“Do you think there’s an ambush?” Rapunzel asked. 

“Dunno,” Flynn said. “I don’t think so, but ambushes are kind of the Trandoshans’ thing.”

He ducked out of the bushes, motioning once more for Rapunzel to stay. After a moment of deliberation, she decided to stay, but was still tensed up, ready to jump into action at a moment’s notice. 

Flynn crept towards the rock, circling it a few times before smiling to himself. He shoved against the rock, and a part of it popped off easily, a false rock face. Kneeling down, he carefully extracted a large crate of spice, and grinned at Rapunzel, looking pleased with himself.

**Behind you.**

Before she could even think, she whirled around, throwing her frying pan as hard as she could, unsure of her direction. There was a loud thunk, the pan connecting with something solid. A moment later, a strange, reptilian creature toppled out of a tree, the sniper gun falling out of his limp hands. It had been cocked to shoot.

Flynn stiffened when he saw the creature-presumably a Trandoshan-and locked eyes with Rapunzel.

And then everything went to hell.

*** *** ***

Contrary to popular belief, Gothel didn’t actually care what became of the Empire.

Really, the loss of control was to be expected. She had been around for a long time, and watched many empires rise and fall. It was temporary, the control and order, though she had grown to appreciate it in her current status. But, as it always was, she felt a shift in the power, and felt the Empire’s iron grip forced to loosen under the destruction of the Death Star.

The Empire was still young by Gothel’s ancient standards, but she should have expected it. The Empire’s control was impressive, but there was nothing to control the galaxy with. Thanks to the clone wars, the galaxy had been so fearful and desperate for peace that it was easy to break up the weakened Republic and establish autocracy. But with the only threats in the galaxy coming from the Empire itself now, people rebelled against them, and the Empire only squeezed harder in response, never bothering to wonder why this sudden hatred had come about when they were welcome with open arms before.

Gothel knew exactly why. People can’t be controlled if they don’t have anything to fear.

But in any case, it was probably too late for the Empire anyway. That was fine by Gothel. She was sending her troops on fool’s errands in an effort to make herself still look useful while she slowly distanced herself from the Empire. By the time everything collapsed, she would have disappeared into the shadows once more, waiting for the next opportunity to weasel her way into decadence. 

She entered her sanctum, ignoring the two Stormtroopers standing guard as they saluted her. The doors shut behind her and she sighed, staring at her reflection in the shiny walls. She pulled at her face experimentally, frowning when she saw a few hidden wrinkles. Being a puppet master was hard work; she would need to return to the Black Rocks soon.

Gothel took a seat in the center of the room and took a deep breath, shutting her eyes and allowing her consciousness to survey the galaxy through the Force. Little had changed; the Empire was slowly crumbling, and the Rebel Alliance was building in power. They had a few bright spots of power on their side, but nothing that really concerned Gothel. They didn’t care about her, and she didn’t care about them. 

She paused, suddenly feeling something pull her attention away. Something new and unexpected. A bright spot of power in the Outer Rim that she had not been aware of before. It was shining brightly and opening, as if to challenge her. 

And Gothel had no idea who it was.

Snapping back to herself, she stood up, oddly infuriated. Whatever this being was, it had come out of nowhere, and had the capability to ruin her carefully laid plans. 

Gothel stood up quickly, sweeping out of the room, once again ignoring the Stormtroopers saluting her. 

She had rocks to consult with.

*** *** ***

“Come on, come on, hold it up!” Flynn hissed, struggling to keep a hold on his side of the crate, using the thick foliage as desperate cover. Shots exploded from around them, and Rapunzel ignored the uncompromising terrain attacking her bare feet.

“I’m trying! I’m also trying not to get shot!” She snapped, juggling the other side of the crate, the two of them working rather comically to lug the spice.

“Try harder!” Flynn snapped, nearly stumbling. 

Rapunzel nearly breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the ship loom into her view, but then came to an abrupt halt when a speeder bike zoomed past her. A Trandoshan hopped off it before it even fully stopped, touting a heavy gun. He snarled, a forked tongue flickering out.

She turned, prepared to flee to the relative safety of the trees, only to see several other Trandoshans emerge from the shrubs, each of them looking equally pissed off. 

“Oh, dear.” Rapunzel said, and Flynn muttered several curses.

“Now, who might these brave thievesssssss be?” A Trandoshan hissed, stepping forward with a cruel smile. 

Flynn stepped back, shifting himself to stand in front of Rapunzel. “O-oh, this...this is your’s? My bad, I must have gotten mixed up! See, I thought this was my secret spice rock, I’m sure you can understand the confusion…”

The Trandoshans laughed, but it sounded like growls. And they certainly weren’t laughing with Flynn. The biggest one in front of them leveled his gun. “Drop the spice.”

Flynn gulped, and the two slowly set down the crate. Rapunzel stared at the box, an inkling of an idea forming in her head. Carefully, she retrieved the comm from her pocket, turning it on. “Oh, no!” She said loudly. “We’ve been caught by _wanted criminals_!”

“Shut it.” The Trandoshan snarled at her. He stepped forward, and Flynn moved suddenly, though whether to step in front of her or attack the Trandoshan, she didn’t know. The Trandoshan was faster, spinning his rifle around and striking Flynn in the gut. He doubled over immediately with a groan.

“Flynn!” Rapunzel tried to dart forward, but another Trandoshan grabbed her arm. She thrashed. “Let go of me!”

“I-is that all you got?” Flynn spat. “Pathetic.”

“Oh, it issssss not, Flynn Rider,” The Trandoshan snarled, looking cruel. “But I know the Empire doessss not like it when we break their toyssss. We are barely a click away from a labor camp, you know.”

Rapunzel wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, but based on the way Flynn’s face paled, it wasn’t good. She thrashed again, and the Trandoshan holding her yanked on her arm roughly, snarling. “What about thisssss one, bosssssss? Should we ssssset up for a hunt?”

“Huntssss are only fun when they are little,” The leader said, and a chill went down Rapunzel’s spine. “Kill her.”

“No, wait!” Flynn said, trying to stand, but the Trandoshan leader hit him with the rifle butt again, this time on his left shoulder. Flynn collapsed with a muted cry, grabbing his shoulder.

Rapunzel felt the barrel of a blaster press against her forehead, and she squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to cry-

The doors to the ship opened, and the Trandoshans froze.

Slowly, M4X glided out, beeping hesitantly. The Trandoshans paused, unsure what to make of the droid. M4X’s head jerked around, beeping urgently as its eyes turned red. Its alarm blared, and as it’s hands turned into twin blasters, Pascal emerged into its head, squeaking a war cry.

M4X zoomed into battle like an avenging angel, and the Trandoshans turned all their attention to him. Rapunzel jerked away from her captor, rushing to Flynn’s side. “Are you alright?!”

“‘M fine,” He said, brushing off her attempts to help him up. “We gotta get out of here before that crazy droid gets me.”

“I think he’s busy!” Rapunzel said, watching the blaster fire bounce off the little droid harmlessly. 

“My God, your frog has a violent streak,” Flynn said, watching Pascal expertly ride M4X. “Hurry, grab the other side!”

Rapunzel grabbed the other side of the crate, and the two struggled to pull the spice into the ship. “Pascal!” Rapunzel shouted.

The chameleon squeaked, tapping on M4X’s metallic head. The little droid turned, pausing in his violence to see that Flynn was already in the cockpit now, and the ship was rumbling. He beeped, immediately zooming back, entering the safety of the ship just as the doors closed. The ship drifted leisurely away, Trandoshan blasting fire harmless against it.

M4X beeped angrily, zooming to the cockpit. Flynn spotted him, and yelped, scrambling out of the seat to find cover. “Hey hey hey!” Rapunzel leapt in front of the droid, blocking his shot. The droid whirred angrily, trying to get around her, but Rapunzel kept moving to block him. “Woah, woah, woah, buddy, hang on a second.”

“Are you crazy?!” Flynn hissed, but Rapunzel ignored him.

“There’s a little chip,” Rapunzel said slowly, looking at Pascal. “Right behind your core processing unit that’s making you all...uh, buggy.”

Pascal squeaked, easily reaching into the droid’s open head and yanking out a small blue chip. He tossed it aside, and M4X’s eyes went dark for a second, and then lit up once again, white and mostly peaceful. He caught sight of Flynn and whirred a warning. 

“I know, I know,” Rapunzel said sympathetically. “You wanna get him. But look, I really need him to get me to the Coruscant Archives.”

M4X beeped angrily. “Just until then!” Rapunzel said. “And then you two can chase each other to your heart’s content.”

M4X rocked back and forth, but seemed to relent. Rapunzel grinned, looking pleased with herself. “Hang on,” She told Flynn. “I saw some medical supplies down there, we can check you out.” She ducked out of the cockpit before he could argue.

Flynn glared at M4X. “Scrap metal.” He grumbled.

He yelped loudly (like a man, of course), tripping over himself when M4X’s blaster hand reappeared as a warning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> damn eugene stop being mean to m4x

**Author's Note:**

> *imagine the Mandalorian end credits song plays over really cool art of this chapter*  
> come watch the fight scene between ashoka and maul with me on my tumblr!  
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/toadintheroad


End file.
